Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Sunday stressed the need for democratisation of the country’s economy to make political democracy successful.
“Political democracy alone is not enough. If we cannot democratise our economy, political democracy cannot be successful,” he said.
The Finance Minister made the remarks while addressing a discussion titled “July Mass Uprising commemoration ceremony 2026” at the Central Auditorium of BUET in the capital.
Explaining the concept of democratization of the economy, Khosru said its fundamental idea is to ensure that every citizen of Bangladesh can participate in all sectors of the country’s economy.
“The basic idea behind the democratisation of the economy is that every person in Bangladesh will have the opportunity to participate in the economy. The benefits of the economy must reach every person regardless of their position,” he said.
The finance minister said the people of Bangladesh were not only deprived of their rights during the Sheikh Hasina regime, but the country’s independence and sovereignty were also put into question.
“There was a tendency to remain in power even by selling the interests of the country that everything had to be sold to stay in power. This created a major question over our sovereignty,” he said.
“That is why one of the slogans of our Prime Minister is, ‘Bangladesh first,’” he added.
State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque said the July Uprising doesn’t belong to any person or group and warned against attempts to turn the uprising into a means of personal or political business.
“July does not belong to any individual or any party,” he said.
“Some political parties are constantly capitalizing on the events of July. We want to steer clear of this kind of opportunism,” he added.
He said the government would implement the public aspirations reflected in the July uprising. “We want to implement the aspirations of July as July is the fruit of 17 years of struggle,” he said.
The vice chancellor of BUET professor Dr. Eqramul Hoque, Pro vice chancellor Mohammad Shariful Islam along with families of July martyrs were also present among the guests.